2007-08 Women's Basketball

Heidelberg 71, Bluffton 60

Beavers fall to 6-5 with 71-60 loss to Student Princes

BLUFFTON, Ohio - The Bluffton University women's basketball team ran into a hot shooting
tandem from Heidelberg on Friday, December 21, 2007, and fell to the Student Princes
by a final score of 71-60. The Beavers dropped to 6-5 on the season while Heidelberg
improved to 5-4.

A three-pointer from Angie Lee (Mt. Blanchard/Vanlue) gave Bluffton its only lead of the game at the 18:36 mark.
Responding to a 5-0 run by Heidelberg, Ginny Buckingham (Bluffton/Bluffton) chipped in two points to tie the score.

Vicki Auer (Cincinnati/Roger Bacon) picked up an offensive rebound and added two points for
the Beavers, but the Student Princes' offense proved to be tough for the Beavers to
stop.

At the 11-minute mark, a layup and free throw by senior Lindsay Bush (Howard/East Knox) capped a 5-0 Bluffton run and tied the score at 16.

Heidelberg answered with a 9-0 rally before Bluffton called timeout to try and regroup.
Angie Lee responded with three layups, cutting the Heidelberg lead to just five points
with 3:16 to play in the first half.

Kim Miller (Delphos/St. John's) got to the rack for a Bluffton basket, while a dish from Amanda Bell (Napoleon/Liberty Center) to Bush made the score 29-26 in favor of the visitors.
A pair of Ginny Buckingham free throws again cut the deficit to three points before
Auer's triple try with the clock winding down was just off the mark.

To start the second half, seniors Amanda Bell and Angie Lee each drove to the hole
and converted, but an 11-4 Heidelberg jag gave the Student Princes a 50-38 lead at
the 13:12 mark.

Katie Lord (Toledo/Whitmer) hit from downtown, while Bush and Buckingham both made good from
in close to make it a six-point game with just under eight minutes left in the contest.
Lee and Miller followed with jumpers to help Bluffton stay within six points.

Heidelberg's countered with five straight points, including a Morgan Harrigan triple, to push the lead back up to 11 points with 3:34 to play. An old-fashioned
three-point play by Vicki Auer gave the Beavers hope with a minute to play, but Heidelberg
held on for a 71-60 victory in Founders Hall.

Lee led the Beavers with 17 points, five rebounds, and three assists. Lindsay Bush
was 7-of-8 from the field for 16 points off the bench. Buckingham chipped in with
eight points, seven boards and an assist. Miller added seven points, eight rebounds,
two assists and a block. Auer chipped in with five points, five boards, four assists
and two steals. Bell picked up two steals and ripped down six rebounds.

The Beavers struggled to find Brittany Skolnicki who paced Heidelberg with a game-high 33 points on 15-of-23 shooting from the field.
She also pulled down four rebounds. Morgan Harrigan, who came into the contest averaging
4.5 points per game, drilled 7-of-10 shots from outside the arc for 21 points. Amanda Campbell finished with 10 rebounds for the Student Princes

Bluffton sank 26-of-58 (44.8 percent) from the field for the game. The Beavers hit
only two three-pointers, while the Student Princes made 8-of-20 (40 percent) from
behind the arc. Bluffton grabbed seven more boards than Heidelberg (37-30), but the
Beavers turned the ball over 15 times compared to a Heidelberg squad that committed
only eight miscues.

The Beavers are now off for the holidays before they return to action on Saturday,
January 5, 2008, when they travel to face Heartland Conference rival Anderson University.
The contest is slated to start at 3 p.m.